Two journalists among three shot dead in Quetta

QUETTA: Balochistan Union of Journalists (BUJ) Secretary General Irshad Mastoi, trainee reporter Abdul Rasul and an accountant of a news agency were gunned down in the provincial capital on Thursday.According to Bijli Road Police Station SHO two armed men barged into the office of a news distribution agency and fired at the people inside. “Senior journalist Irshad Mastoi, trainee reporter Abdul Rasul and an accountant Mohammed Younus were shot in the head and chest,” said SHO Hashim Shah. The office of the news agency is located in the second story of the Kabir Building near Jinnah Road, downtown Quetta. The assailants managed to flee after the gruesome attack. The dead bodies were shifted to the Provincial Sandeman Hospital. Irshad Mastoi, 34, often contributed articles to local and national newspapers. Abdul Rasul, who was in early 20s, had recently become a trainee reporter for the news agency. He was a student of final year at Media and Journalism Department of the University of Balochistan Quetta. “It was a targeted attack and the target was these journalists,” an official said. Journalists and relatives of the victims rushed to the hospital after hearing about the incident. The dead bodies were handed over to the heirs after completion of legal formalities.